Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam eBook

In the very able manifesto of the governor, he traced
the history of the country from the earliest period
to the present time. He deduced the title of
the Dutch, to the territory, from the three great
principles of Discovery, Settlement, and Purchase from
the Indians. He severely denounced the pretence,
now put forth by the English, that his, “Britannic
Majesty had an indisputable right to all the lands
in the north parts of America.” Courteously
he added that he was confident that if his Majesty
had been well informed in the premises, his high sense
of justice would have dissuaded him from authorizing
the present hostile demonstration. In conclusion
he said,

“In case you will act by force
of arms, we protest before God and man, that
you will perform an act of unjust violence.
You will violate the articles of peace solemnly ratified
by his Majesty of England, and my Lords the States-General.
Again for the prevention of the spilling of innocent
blood, not only here but in Europe, we offer you a
treaty by our deputies. As regards your threats
we have no answer to make, only that we fear
nothing but what God may lay upon us. All
things are at His disposal, and we can be preserved
by Him with small forces as well as by a great army.”

CHAPTER XIV.

THE CAPTURE OF NEW AMSTERDAM.

The Approach of the
Fleet.—­The Governor Unjustly
Censured.—­The
Flag of Truce.—­The Haughty Response.—­The
Remonstrance.—­The
Defenceless City.—­The Surrender.—­The
Expedition to the Delaware.—­Sack
and Plunder.—­Change of
Name.—­Testimony
to the Dutch Government.—­Death of the
Governor.—­His
farm, or Bouwerie.—­War Between Holland and
England.—­New
York Menaced by the Dutch.

The only response which Colonel Nicholls deigned to
make to the remonstrance of Governor Stuyvesant, was
to put his fleet in motion. A party of soldiers,
infantry and cavalry, was landed on Long Island, and
they advanced rapidly through the forest, to the little
cluster of huts which were scattered along the silent
and solitary shores of Brooklyn. These troops
were generally volunteers from Connecticut and from
the English settlements on Long Island.

The fleet then ascended through the Narrows, and two
of the frigates disembarked a number of regular troops
just below Brooklyn, to support the volunteers.
Two of the frigates, one mounting thirty-six guns,
and the other thirty, coming up under full sail, passed
directly within range of the guns of the fort, and
cast anchor between the fort and Nutten or Governor’s
Island.

Stuyvesant stood at one of the angles of the fortress
as the frigates passed by. It was a critical
moment. The fate of the city and the lives of
its inhabitants trembled in the balance. The guns
were loaded and shotted, and the gunners stood by
with their burning matches. A word from the impetuous
Stuyvesant would have opened upon the city all the
horrors of a bombardment. There were but about
twenty guns in the fort. There were sixty-six
in the two frigates, whose portholes were opened upon
the city; and there were two other frigates just at
hand, prepared to bring twenty-eight guns more into
the fray.